Dec 5, 2012

AARP Opposes COLA Cut

On Wednesday, AARP volunteers and staff will visit Capitol Hill to
deliver a strong message to Congress on the fiscal cliff: leave Social
Security and Medicare off the table. ...

"Americans have spoken and they don’t want Congress or the President to
make changes to Social Security or Medicare in any last minute deficit
deal,” AARP’s volunteer president Rob Romasco said in a statement....

Specifically, AARP opposes changes to Social Security's cost of living adjustments, or COLAs. The fiscal deal proposal offered by Republicans on Monday suggests changing the way inflation is calculated, which would reduce COLAs by over $100 billion over the next decade according to the Congressional Budget Office.

"Reducing Social Security benefits by moving to a chained consumer price index (CCPI) –- estimated to take $112 billion dollars out of the pockets of current and future Social Security beneficiaries in the next 10 years alone – is inappropriate and unwarranted," AARP CEO A. Barry Rand wrote in a letter to lawmakers earlier this month.